Teachers’ Rights
EDU 224 | Newberry College
Teachers’ Rights
• What does it mean to be a professional?
• What’s the difference between morality and
ethics?
• What can teachers do? Not do?
What does it
mean to act as
a professional?
Morals versus ethics
Morals are personal and
cultural values that
distinguish between right
and wrong.
Ethics are a set of rules
explicitly adopted by a
group of people.
What’s a situation where you, as a teacher, might react
one way morally and another way ethically?
Teachers’ Rights
Question #1
What can’t a potential employer
ask you during an interview?
“Interview questions must be related to job
requirements. Questions about race, creed,
marital status, sex, religion, age, national origin,
and physical or other disabilities and even a
request for photographs along with an
application are generally illegal.”
Title IX of Education Amendments (1972)
Title VII of Civil Rights Act (1964)
See pp. 246-247
Teachers’ Rights
Question #2
What is sexual
harassment?
What do you do if it
happens to you?
“Victims of sexual harassment are also victims of
sex discrimination and can recover monetary
damages.”
Title IX of Education Amendments (1972)
Title VII of Civil Rights Act (1964)
See pp. 247-248
Teachers’ Rights
Question #3
Can you be fired for living with your
girlfriend while being unmarried or being
seen drinking?
If your behavior
significantly disrupts
the educational
process or erodes
your credibility with
students, colleagues,
or the community,
you may be fired.
See pp. 248-249
Teachers’ Rights
Question #4
You use a
controversial book
or movie to teach
in your classroom.
Can you be fired?
“The right to academic freedom (that is, to
teach without coercion, censorship, or other
restrictive interference) is not absolute. The
courts will balance your right to academic
freedom with the school system’s interests in its
students’ learning appropriate subject matter in
an environment conducive to learning.”
See pp. 250-251
Teachers’ Rights
Question #5
You leave your duty post
briefly and an accident
occurs. Can you be held
responsible?
You can be charged with negligence, depending
on whether your absence is considered
reasonable.
“Courts generally use two standards in
determining negligence: 1) whether a
reasonable person with similar training would
act in the same way and 2) whether or not the
teacher could have foreseen the possibility of an
injury.”
See pp. 251-252
Teachers’ Rights
Question #6
Can you criticize
your school or
district publicly?
The courts will balance your First Amendment
rights with the school or district’s interest in
efficiently providing public services, whether or
not your comments damage operations,
whether or not your statements are knowingly
or recklessly inaccurate, and whether there is a
need for confidentiality.
See pp. 252-253
Teachers’ Rights
Question #7
You make a copy
of an article for
your class. Is that
illegal?
Teachers’ rights to freely reproduce and distribute
published works were curtailed by the Copyright Act of
1976.
Under the legal principle of fair use, teachers may still
reproduce published material on a limited basis without
written permission. Fair use is determined by brevity,
spontaneity, and cumulative effect (9 instances per class per
semester).
Also applies to software (1990 Amendment) and web
material (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 1998).
See pp. 253-254
Teachers’ Rights
Question #8
You decide to strike with
your colleagues to
protest a district salary
issue. Can you be put in
jail?
In some states, courts have recognized the right
of teachers to organize and bargain collectively
(as unions): Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii,
Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
In others, the courts have determined that
teachers provide a vital public service and
cannot strike.
See pp. 254-255
Teachers’ Rights
Question #9
You are Physical
Education teacher.
Can you group
students based on
gender?
Teachers cannot use assumptions about gender
(or race) to determine placements or
assignment or groups.
In P.E., Title IX prohibits sex segregation except
when the activity involves significant bodily
contact, if the assessment of of ability was made
using objective standards, or if students’
religious beliefs prohibit them from participating
in coed activities.
See pp. 255-256
What should a teacher do?
1. Be knowledgeable. Be careful.
2. Know your community. Know School Board policies.
3. Cover yourself. Get permission and check with
others.
4. Make sure you are where you are supposed to be.
5. Join an educational association that can help
protect and defend your rights.
6. Notify appropriate authorities – school district,
federal Office of Civil Rights – when necessary.
Class Wiki
http://edu224fall2010.pbworks.com